We Cry the Same Blood
by the very beginning
Summary: Val-Yor introduced the Titans to a world of alien racism and prejudice, opening up a portal of bitter feuds and bad blood. He called Starfire 'Troq' and made her feel worthless; at least he did not wish for the genocide of her people as some others do...


**We Cry the Same Blood**

by

**_the _**_very__beginning_

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

The interrogation room was massive in size, but empty in content. A lone figure sat kneeling on the metal floor, the shiny, mirror-like walls throwing his reflection all over the room. He remained still, shoulders tense and lips thinned from pain. A sort of hopeless agony revealed itself on his face and it took all his training to keep himself quiet.

A heavy door slid open behind him and two pairs of footsteps echoed in the empty space and broke the silence. He braced himself.

"What have we here?" one voice murmured, almost conversationally as a hand reached around to tug harshly at the prisoner's chin. His head was forced a near one-eighty degrees around to face his captors. He knew what they would look like, had prepared himself for the moment when he would stare them in the eyes, but their appearance nonetheless still caused him to shiver.

They looked exactly like he did. And yet, they couldn't be any more different. How could one that looked so similar find so much to hate about the other? He just didn't, couldn't understand.

The other interrogator, a woman, held a clipboard in her fingers. Pale eyes never looked up from the medical sheets they leisurely perused. "Tamaranian. Male, early thirties."

"Hesna has told me that he keeps his screams in check rather well," the male said lightly. He kicked the prisoner without warning in the middle of his back. The attack had come so suddenly that the Tamaranian could not help but choke on his own yelp of pain.

Both interrogators now looked as if they were admiring a new toy, soft smiles dawning on their thin faces.

The female hummed and flipped to a different form. "Ah, see, it says here that he seems to be one of their 'soldiers'. Figures that the Troqs would train their soldiers to handle pain rather than to fight like a real warrior."

The insult to his race almost made the Tamaranian speak, but the anger bubbled uselessly in his chest and quickly fizzed out. It was useless to argue and it was even more foolish to give them more reason to draw out his torture any longer.

"See?" the female asked, pleased as punch after a moment of tense silence. "Even as we stand here, demeaning the name of his home planet, he does nothing." She took the clipboard and slammed it into the side of his head without even a change in her content expression. "The coward."

The male crouched down on his knees, still high enough to look down on his prisoner. "Still, Arisan, this one is much more valiant than the other one we required last star cycle. Shall we show a little mercy and get straight to the point?" He grinned a grin full of teeth.

Arisan tossed the clipboard off to the side and sighed. "I suppose, Peyun; at any rate, there's a good chance that this one will stay as tight-lipped as the last, so we will still get our fun. It is surprising how resilient these Troqs are when it comes to their royalty." She stood behind the Tamaranian and simultaneously grabbed his hair to pull him back as Peyun grabbed his shirt to pull him forward.

The Tamaranian's mouth opened wordlessly in surprise, but his eyes stayed defiant. Pacifist or Troq or whatever you wanted to call him, he would not tell them what they wanted to know. There would be torture and moments of weakness, but the Tamaranian knew he would not cave – could not cave. Thoughts of his beloved princess, the one that everyone adored and held dear, and images of the planet that had nurtured him all his life bombarded his mind and gave him strength.

This was both the beginning and the end, but he didn't mind.

"So, Troq," Peyun asked as if he were merely discussing the weather, oblivious to his playtoy's willful thoughts, "_where is she_?"

* * *

The famous Teen Titans of Jump City were utterly speechless.

Together, they walked out onto the sidewalk and into the hot June sun, oblivious to the small crowd that had gathered around them.

"That – was –," Beast Boy and Robin both began haltingly.

"—Awesome!" the green-skinned changeling cried, pumping an enthusiastic fist toward the sky.

"—Awful," Robin muttered at the same time, bringing a gloved hand to cup his aching head.

The doors of the movie theater, proudly displaying the promotional poster for "Death Action Star: Killer Warrior 2", swung shut behind the five heroes. Beast Boy and Cyborg immediately turned to one another and began gushing over all their favorite scenes. Raven, despite the horrid head, pulled her hood over her head, let the rest of her cape cover her body, and slowly distanced herself from her exuberant teammates.

"You did not enjoy the movie, Robin?" Starfire inquired, interlocking her fingers behind her back in a sweet manner. Honestly, Starfire loved movies of all sorts, entranced by the special effects and the dramatic music. Half of the time, she couldn't even understand what was going on, yet the moving pictures and loud noises never failed to make her smile (except for horror movies – those were just a plain awful Earthling invention!). "Death Action Star: Killer Warrior 2" had been one of those movies where the plot had gone in one Tamaranian ear and out the other, but the overdone crashes and obnoxious fighting styles still delighted the teenage alien.

"It was the biggest waste of my Saturday morning," Robin spoke darkly, mussing his spiky hair. He scowled and kicked at the sidewalk with a steel-toed boot. "There's no such fighting technique called the Squirming Tadpole! They just made that stuff up!"

"Duuuuddeee!" Beast Boy whined, breaking off from his gabfest with Cyborg to shake Robin by the shoulders. "Who cares if it's a real move or not? It was totally awesome – he took out twenty villains in one shot with the Squirming Tadpole!"

Boy Wonder's eye twitched unhappily. "That's because it's an unrealistic, dishonorable piece of trash written by a bunch of uncreative, pathetic writers who probably wouldn't understand true martial arts if I hit them in the face."

Cyborg grinned. "Are you sure you're not just _jealous_?"

"Jealous because you could never think up as cool a move as the Squirming Tadpole?" Beast Boy continued, poking Robin slyly.

A vein throbbed in Robin's forehead. "Definitely not."

Raven sighed from her isolated spot and folded her legs Indian style as her body began to levitate. "Look, let's get back to the Tower. It's hot. And sunny. And pointless. I don't do hot and sunny and pointless."

Cyborg, always enticed by the thought of driving his precious T-Car, nodded vigorously. Beast Boy's face lit up and he waved an energetic hand in the air. "Ooh, ooh, I call shotgunnnnn!" He dashed off.

Cyborg took after him, yelling in his deep, booming voice, "You better not change the set radio stations on my baby, Beast Boy! You little green elf, I'm watchin' youuuuu!"

Robin and Raven sighed tiredly, knowing it was too late in their careers to pretend that they were not affiliated with such a boisterous pair.

"Mhmm, today is such a glorious day! So breathtakingly flawless!" Starfire smiled blissfully and stretched her fingers towards the clear sky. Cheerfully, she whirled around to Robin and Raven, jumping up into the air and floating. "I think I shall fly home; it would be such a shame to waste such marvelous weather! Raven, my dear friend, shall we fly through the fluffy clouds together on this fantastic afternoon?"

Raven's infamous deadpan expression, having come out at the mentions of "marvelous weather" and "fluffy clouds" and "fantastic afternoon", did not deter the alien one bit. Unfortunately for Raven, Tamaranians did not process implied sarcasm very well. Finally, the apathetic telepath sighed and vocalized her decline, quietly walking the other way to the T-Car. Starfire looked to the last remaining Titan; Robin shrugged sheepishly.

"I'd love a ride, actually, if you don't mind taking me," he said, smiling and holding out a hand as if already knowing her answer. Still, he thought it polite to ask instead of just assuming.

Starfire beamed and tugged him effortlessly into the air as well. "Not at all, Robin! I shall be very happy indeed with you accompanying me. Let us go!" She hovered for a split second, gathering all her good feelings – the sun on her face, the happy chattering of people around her, Robin's hand in hers – before taking off.

They had long perfected the art of flying together, the right balance to make the ride comfortable for Robin, who was in essence dangling from one limb in mid-air. Starfire navigated them effortlessly, naturally finding the best path to guide them home, occasionally daring to bypass a moist, misty cloud. She laughed at the sheer feeling of flight; Robin grinned along with her.

And then they were shot down.

* * *

_Yes, I used to be _**Nightbolts101**_. Seriously._

_The last time I wrote for the Teen Titans fandom would have been... oh, let's say, about three years ago? If not more. Yikes. Still love it -- it's like your first real crush; you never quite get over it._

_Hopefully, if you recognize me from the olden days, you'll find me a better writer (hopefully). I certainly won't be begging for reviews this time around, like some are wont to do. And hopefully my work will be less generic. Unfortunately, my bad habit of long rests between updates has not abated... madly busy this year, as I'm a Senior in high school preparing around ten college applications for the next three months. Ick. So please allow me a teensy bit of grace._

_I am super excited about this story, however, and hope you enjoyed the first chapter! _

_Thanks for your time,_

_the very beginning (formerly known as_ **Nightbolts101**_)_


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